Conventionally, as an image recording device by which an image can be simply recorded at low cast, a lot of image printers employing an inkjet printer system are used. The image printer (hereinafter, called “inkjet printer”) employing the inkjet system is a printer in which, for example, a piezoelectric element such as a piezo element or a heater is used and ink is jetted as a very small liquid drop from a nozzle of a recording head onto a recording medium such as a paper sheet. Image recording is conducted by moving a recording head while the ink is penetrated into or fixed onto the recording medium.
Furthermore, recent years, an ultraviolet ray hardening type inkjet printer becomes well known as a printing device by which an image can be formed on the recording medium such as a resin film into which ink poorly absorbed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). This is a printer in which, when the ultraviolet hardening ink including a light initiator having a predetermined sensitivity for ultraviolet rays is used, the ultraviolet ray is irradiated onto the ink jetted onto the recording medium. The ink is hardened and fixed onto the recording medium. It is also possible to print an image onto a transparent or opaque packing material.
However, in such an inkjet printer, when the recording operation is continuously conducted, there is a possibility that ink jetted from the nozzle of the recording head and turned into fog is adhered to and accumulated in the vicinity of the nozzle and causes clogging. Particularly, in the ultraviolet ray hardening type inkjet printer, there is a case that the ink adhered to the vicinity of the nozzle is hardened by reflected rays of an ultraviolet ray source. When an printing operation is conducted under such a condition, even when the nozzle conducts the jetting operation by the operation of piezo elements, an jet failure so-called nozzle-absence by which ink-droplets are not jetted, or the jetting-curvature by which the ink-droplets are not jetted in the right direction is caused, which results in failure in an image recording.
Accordingly, in order to conduct a normal image recording, it is necessary to appropriately conduct a cleaning operation of a recording head. With regard to the cleaning operation of the recording head, known is an operation by which an ink absorber of a sheet member such as a paper sheet is brought into contact with the recording head and the ink adhered to the vicinity of the nozzle of the recording head is absorbed and removed (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).                (Patent Document 1) Japanese Patent Application open to Public, Tokkai 2001-310454        (Patent Document 2) Japanese Patent 2705956        
However, in the case of the above Patent Document 2, when the undulation is formed on the nozzle surface of the recording head, or the nozzle is projected to the recording head, the ink absorber can not correspond to the undulation of the nozzle surface, and the ink adhered to the vicinity of the nozzle can not be adequately brought into close contact with the ink absorber and absorbed. Particularly, in the industrial inkjet printer having a plurality of nozzles, it is difficult that the nozzle surface is adequately brought into close contact with the ink absorber, and there is a problem that the ink adhered to the vicinity of the nozzle can not be absorbed and remained on the nozzle surface as it is. Further, when the ink, including ultraviolet ray hardening type ink, in which the viscosity is high and wet-property is poor, such as oil series or solvent series is used, the absorption efficiency of the ink further becomes poor, and the cleaning can not be conducted enough. It has a problem that failure may be caused in the image recording.